Joe Repya is one old soldier who won't fade away. Repya, a 63-year-old retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel from Eagan who served in three wars, today will join a political battle by launching a campaign for the Independence Party endorsement for governor. He's a political newcomer but the veteran of 10 years of combat duty in Vietnam and of the Persian Gulf War and one of the oldest U.S. soldiers to volunteer for Operation Iraqi Freedom said Tuesday, "No other candidate is as battle-tested as I am." He planned to file paperwork with the state campaign finance board today to...

As a military officer for 30 years, I came to recognize the necessity of good leadership. When I retired from the military in 1998, I became active politically in the Republican Party. Since that time, I've been elected to two National Republican Conventions, acted as a military spokesperson for the Bush/Cheney campaign in 2004, and served as national veterans coordinator for Fred Thompson's presidential run. In 2007, I ran for Minnesota GOP party chair as a reform candidate, and lost. Over the years I have raised tens of thousands of dollars for GOP coffers, donated many thousands of dollars to...

Retired Lt. Col. Joe Repya will be joining the Fred Thompson campaign. Repya has taken a National position and will help head up the Vets for Fred arm of the campaign. Repya held a similar position with President Bush in 2004, and has been on the wish list for the Republican candidates in the 2008 cycle. With 2 months to go until the voting begins in the POTUS sweepstakes, Fred! is gathering strength and gathering his troops for battle. Repya will bring with him experience and knowledge that has been called upon by the current Commander in Chief. If you...

Mclean, VA - Today on the steps of the State House in Columbia, SC, surrounded by numerous veterans, Senator Fred Thompson was joined by Major General James Livingston and Lieutenant Colonel Joe Repya to launch Veterans for Fred Thompson. Major General James Livingston, a 33 year veteran of the United States Marine Corps, will serve as the National Co-Chair of Veterans for Fred Thompson. On May 2, 1968, while serving as the Commanding Officer, Company E, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, he distinguished himself above and beyond the call of duty in action against enemy forces and earned the Congressional Medal...

"I'm Tired" Two weeks ago, as I was starting my sixth month of duty in Iraq, I was forced to return to the USA for surgery for an injury I sustained prior to my deployment. With luck, I'll return to Iraq to finish my tour. I left Baghdad and a war that has every indication that we are winning, to return to a demoralized country much like the one I returned to in 1971 after my tour in Vietnam. Maybe it's because I'll turn 60 years old in just four months, but I'm tired: I'm tired of spineless politicians, both...

London, like Madrid last year and New York on 9/11, has been attacked by radical Islamic terrorists. Yet, on the day of the attack we hear the never-ending whine of "blame America." Somehow, anti-American zealots reason that because America liberated the people of Afghanistan and Iraq, it is our fault terrorists are targeting civilians. It is time for the world and many Americans to understand regardless of how much you dislike George W. Bush, these terrorist attacks have been coming since the 1970s. The excuses used by these terrorists have run the gamut from U.S. support for Israel to U.S....

Many people are asking why a 58-year-old grandfather is returning to service in the United States Army. My reason for returning to the service of our great nation can best be summed by the words of President George W. Bush's acceptance speech

'I want to leave this world a better and safer place for my two daughters and their children.' A lot of partisans give stirring speeches in support of President Bush and the war on terrorism, but Joe Repya takes the rhetoric seriously. He is stepping

At the age of 58, Joe Repya is trading a political battleground for a real one. After fighting in Vietnam and returning for more combat duty in Desert Storm in 1991, then assuming a key role for the 2004 Bush campaign in swing state Minnesota, the retired lieutenant colonel from Eagan is headed back to the Army -- and Iraq. "I'm worried about the kidding I'll get from those young soldiers," said Repya, who will give up his post as co-chairman of Minnesota Veterans for Bush-Cheney. "I'm sure the Army will give me an extra set of bifocals." A return...